Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of pedestrian deaths)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

In the domain of perambulation, before "distracted walking" there was
"careless walkin'". Derived from "careless driving" I suspect.

Year: 1922 Copyright
Book title: Sparks of Laughter
Book sub-title: Suggestions to Toastmasters How to Tell a Funny Story
Edition: Third
Publisher: Stewart Anderson, Newark, New Jersey
Page: 23
http://books.google.com/books?id=TrZQAAAAYAAJ&q=walkin#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
A Heedless Jaywalker

Judge — "What's this man charged with, officer?"
Cop — "Careless walkin', yer honor. He bumped into a truck and bent
both fenders and the radiator."
— The American Legion Weekly.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 4:42 PM, Geoff Nathan <geoffnathan at wayne.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Geoff Nathan <geoffnathan at WAYNE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of pedestrian
>               deaths)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> And then, of course, there's 'walking while texting', which I referenced in=
>  my IT blog about nine months ago:=20
>
> http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/?p=3D1013=20
>
> Geoffrey S. Nathan=20
> Faculty Liaison, C&IT=20
> and Professor, Linguistics Program=20
> http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/=20
> +1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT)=20
>
> Nobody at Wayne State will EVER ask you for your password. Never send it to=
>  anyone in an email, no matter how authentic the email looks.=20
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>> From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:01:27 AM
>> Subject: Re: Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of
>> pedestrian deaths)
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject: Re: Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of
>> pedestrian
>> deaths)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
>
>> ABC World News Tonight also had a segment on recently about the
>> hazards of "drunk walking". Apparently 40% or so of pedestrian
>> fatalities (I don't recall the details) involve pedestrians with a
>> blood alcohol level over the limit for driving. We can add that to
>> "drunk dialing" (which I first noticed when it was referenced in the
>> movie "Sideways").
>
>> LH
>
>> On Aug 9, 2013, at 11:57 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
>
>> > Distracted driving is old news.
>> > Now: Distracted walking: Threat or menace?
>> >
>> > Website: Los Angeles Times
>> > Article title: Rise in pedestrian deaths may be due to texting
>> > while walking
>> > Article subtitle: Cities can apply for $2 million in federal grants
>> > to
>> > combat 'distracted walking,' which may have contributed to a recent
>> > increase in pedestrian deaths in traffic accidents.
>> > Author: Marina Villeneuve
>> > Timestamp: August 5, 2013, 9:10 p.m.
>> >
>> > http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pedestrian-safety-=
> 20130806,0,643932.story
>> >
>> > [Begin excerpt]
>> > WASHINGTON =E2=80=94 The Department of Transportation announced steps
>> > Monday
>> > to combat a recent rise in pedestrian deaths that it said was
>> > partially due to what Secretary Anthony Foxx called "distracted
>> > walking."
>> >
>> > Walking while texting or listening to music, or while on drugs, may
>> > have contributed to the increase, Foxx said.
>> >
>> > "Distracted driving, distracted walking, if that can be a phrase. =E2=
> =80=A6
>> > Their behaviors as they are driving or walking can impact our
>> > ability
>> > to keep people safe," Foxx said.
>> >
>> > After decades of fewer pedestrians being killed in traffic crashes,
>> > deaths rose from 4,109 in 2009 to 4,432 in 2011, and 69,000 were
>> > injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
>> > Administration.
>> >
>> > New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have the highest percentage of
>> > pedestrians killed relative to all traffic deaths. Pedestrians
>> > comprise 51% of all motor vehicle deaths in New York, 42% in Los
>> > Angeles and 30% in Chicago.
>> > [End excerpt]
>> >
>> > (The phrase "Threat or menace" has an entry in Wikipedia, I
>> > noticed.
>> > Wikipedia: exhaustive or exhausting?)
>> >
>> > Garson
>> >
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